In Romania, vultures have disappeared almost a century, while in Bulgaria, due to the disappearance of grazing livestock, the poisoning of wildlife and an inappropriate policy of systematic destruction of birds of prey and vultures, a few years ago only two species of vulture (the Egyptian Vulture and the Griffon Vulture) were still found and their populations was extremely small.

At the end of September, an international project, “Bearded Vulture LIFE”, was launched to reintroduce the Bearded Vulture (Gypaetus barbatus), an iconic bird of Bulgarian nature conservation, to Bulgaria and the Balkans, and to strengthen the population of the Cinerous Vultures, recently returned to the nature of Bulgaria, due to an another project. The ”Bearded Vulture LIFE”, coordinated by the Bulgarian conservation organisation Green Balkans, involves eight organisations from three countries, including the Milvus Group Association.

Throughout the seven-year project the Milvus Group’s role is to locate, manage and release the weakened or injured vultures that have wondered into Romania. In addition to providing assistance, we have also undertaken a feasibility study to assess the conditions, possibilities and risks of vulture reintroduction in Romania and to develop a long-term strategy for the practical steps of a possible reintroduction.